The Civil War Connections Blog

Charleston, The Citadel, & The Civil War’s First Shots (Part 1)

Charleston, South Carolina is a city rich with beautiful architecture, mouth watering Southern cooking, and gorgeous weather almost year round. But all of that is trumped by the illustrious history of this southern gem. Certainly Charleston is most known for its Civil War history, but many houses and buildings date back to the Revolutionary era. I have been to Charleston many times but was luckily enough this time to make it down in the springtime, which I can now say this the nicest season to visit in.

Now that I’ve got my plug for Charleston out of the way we can move on to some its Civil War history. Now most people, especially those familiar with the Civil War, know that the war started in Charleston. Although Fort Sumter is famous for the start of the war, it was actually cadets from The Citadel that fired the first shots. So naturally The Citadel was one of the first places on my list to visit, also it’s museum is the only one in the city with free admission so that was certainly a plus.

Above: The Citadel's Civil War Uniforms

The cadets from th Citadel fired what would become the first shots of the Civil War on January 9, 1861, at the Union ship Star of the West that was attempting to get provisions to Fort Sumter.

A vital vantage point for the cadets from The Citadel and the Confederate soldiers throughout the war was White Point Gardens thats sits at the southeastern tip of the city, in clear view of Ft. Sumter.

Above: modern day White Point Gardens

Check back to the blog next week for more. And click more for more pcitures.

Picture of a shell fired at Star of the West and a picture of the actual steamship Star of the West. Both are from The Citadel Museum.